beach house.The words alone have the hypnotic associations Henry James once famously ascribed to summer afternoon–“the two most beautiful words in the English language.” Lifelong beach girl Mary Emmerling captures that implicit promise of freedom in her captivating volume celebrating the American beach cottage.Much of the beach house’s allure is in its reflection of a simpler way of life, a pared-down existence where the breeze is the housekeeper, the furnishings don’t mind a damp swimsuit, and the most precious treasures are seashells and memories. In Mary Emmerling’s Beach Cottages, Mary invites us into seventeen coastal retreats that capture that spirit, and introduces us to the people who take joy from them.Join Mary on a warm, intimate tour of unique seaside escapes, including:•A pint-sized artist’s studio in Key West•A dramatic black-and-white retreat in Newport Beach, California•A shell-lined jewel box in Laguna Beach, California•A nautically inspired Cape Cod getaway•A haven in Galveston, Texas, with sea-grass rugs and matchstick blinds •The homes of designers such as Barclay Butera and Rachel Ashwell•Mary’s own charming cottage, complete with beach balls, sailfish, and beaded curtainsWith gorgeously photographed profiles of easy-going seaside homes and innovative design solutions for everyday living, Mary Emmerling’s Beach Cottages is both beautiful and inspirational. Like a beloved seaside haven, this is a book to return to again and again.

Fun without fuss, and style without stress--to Mary Emmerling, this is the essence of country entertaining. In the tradition of Mary Emmerling's American Country Cooking, this new volume combines country recipes, country decoration and most of all, a relaxed approach to both in a beautiful, full-color package. 180 photographs.

The first name in American Country offers a fully illustrated, idea-packed treasury of 16 elements of country style. Beginning with Architectural Elements and continuing through Windows, Mary Emmerling shows how to create a style detail by detail. Full-color photographs.

The paperback edition of the best-seller that celebrates Western architecture and décor. Here are homes built from logs and adobe brick with sweeping views of deserts, grasslands, and mountain peaks, and crafts people whose pottery, furniture, blankets, ropes and rugs rekindle and reinvent the styles of the American West. Full-color photographs.

Collecting American Country is a sequel and companion to the enormously successful American Country that sold over 160,000 copies and is still selling. It is a comprehensive guide to identifying and buying, maintaining, displaying, and decorating with American country pieces. 400 photographs, including 350 in full color.

Mary Emmerling's American Country Cottages 0-517-58365 Mary Emmerling's American Country Details 0-517-583690

Mary Emmerling, America's premier interpreter of American Country style, has created a charming, lavishly illustrated album of recipes, table settings, and entertaining ideas from her friends throughout the country. More than 300 full-color photographs.

Foreword by Robert Bishop. American Country is a rediscovery of the simple, well-loved things of this nation's past. Painted chests, ladderback chairs, quilts, baskets, stenciled walls, and folk art show the natural beauty of the past. More than 700 color and black-and-white photographs.